Researching county’s neglected insects

Bedfordshire Natural History Society hosted a one-day conference at Marston Vale Millenium Country Park Forest Centre on the theme of Neglected Insects in Bedfordshire.

It was instigated by Alan Outen and was part of an initiative of the same name that Alan launched in 2010 and has already discovered a large amount of additional interest and records. The Beds Invertebrate Group, which Alan founded in 2012, also now has more than 30 members.

Butterflies and moths, dragonflies and damselflies, grasshoppers and crickets, lacewings, true bugs (Heteroptera) and some other groups have been well-studied in the county over many years.

The objective of the initiative overall and the conference purpose is to try and encourage greater interest in insect groups previously not well studied in the county (and elsewhere) and to encourage greater recording of these.

During the conference there were specialist speakers coming from across the country – all well known as leading workers on their groups, most are national recorders and run workshops .

“Whilst historically they were often considered difficult to identify, the literature and resources available are now much better, and we should be taking full advantage of these if we are to meet the stated aims of our society.

Mottled Sedge Caddisfly (Limnephilus sparsus) has been found at several locations in the county both near water and attracted to light.

The Forest Bug Fly (Phasia hemiptera), pictured, has larvae which are parasitic on Forest Bugs and sometimes other Shieldbug species. It has been found near Maulden, Flitwick, Sandy, Ampthill, Yelnow, Bigglewade, Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable, Luton.

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